


Stay?

by WarHammerKlavier



Category: Me and Mrs. Jones (2002)
Genre: Gen, Happy birthday Jav!, Sorry this was not edited in any way that matters, first thing i've written in literal years so hopefully this is not entirely terrible, we are going to be the only two people in this fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:34:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21957460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WarHammerKlavier/pseuds/WarHammerKlavier
Summary: A few months after the divorce, Laura received an unexpected phone call from Richard.(Happy birthday, Jav! <3)
Relationships: Richard Bowden & Laura Bowden
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Stay?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [javertwenttoheaven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/javertwenttoheaven/gifts).



> Birthday fic for Javertwenttoheaven.

The divorce was speedy enough, considering all the attention they received from the press and from the whole of the nation, but even though the agreement to formally separate was mutual, Laura found herself taking it hard. She had known her best friend for twenty three years and had been married to him for thirteen, and they'd shared so many things that it was difficult to even think about living a life without him by her side.

Richard was definitely taking it harder, though. Where she had Liam to fall back on, Richard was alone. He'd just gone through a catastrophic breakup with Simon, which Liam had been witness to, and it was Richard who had to pack all his things up. He still hadn't decided where he should live: before Laura was Prime Minister, they lived in a house in Westminster, but ultimately it was their joint property and he didn't want to relive all the memories of them playing happy families. Therefore, he rented a small flat in Kensington, which he would stay in until he made a decision. The hardest of all, however, was parting with the children. As per the norm, Nicky and Tom would continue to live with Laura at Number 10. Richard agreed that it would ensure that they had a more normal childhood (they would forever face the stigma of having a homosexual father, but at least they shouldn't be bullied as much as they would if they lived with him and perhaps his future partner). He did earn fairly flexible visitation rights, where he could see the children whenever he wanted and they could stay at his place over the weekend every fortnight. It was better this way, Richard thought, as his living arrangements would be sparse and somewhat unpredictable at least in the coming few months. It did not, however, make him miss them less.

With Simon gone and himself not having a home to come back to each night, Richard threw himself relentlessly into work. He'd just lost two valuable members of his team, anyway, since both Simon and Miranda resigned after the Mrs. Jones fiasco, so he found some refuge from his thoughts in trying to pick up the slack. 

This was why Laura thought it excellent when Richard had to go to Paris for a business meeting. The trip was supposed to take only four days, but Laura convinced him to extend it to ten. He had looked utterly miserable for the past couple of months, Laura thought, and she was convinced that the change of scenery would do him good. Initially, Richard was supposed to leave on Tuesday and be back in London on Friday evening, just in time for his weekend with the children, but Laura persuaded him to swap weekends with her, so that he would be coming back on the following Thursday instead.

10 pm on Friday that weekend found her already tucking Nicky and Tom in. The children were understandably upset that they had to postpone their weekend with their father, so Laura and Liam were going to take them to the zoo, which meant that they had to go to bed on time so they wouldn't be underslept and cranky tomorrow. An hour later, Laura too was already in bed with Liam, all snuggled up. Liam was well on his way to slumber after the second glass of wine they'd had downstairs -- they'd both had a busy week. Laura was trying to finish a chapter from the non-fiction she'd been reading for weeks, and was just about to put down her bookmark when her mobile buzzed.

"Really?" groused Liam, barely even awake. He had such keen ears, Laura thought lovingly, that he was able to catch that slight vibration even when she'd put her phone on silent mode.

Laura untangled herself from Liam's embrace and glanced at her mobile. Richard? Why would he be calling from Paris at this time of the night? Thinking it might be an emergency, Laura picked it up immediately.

"Laura?" said Richard's rich baritone. He sounded dreadful.

"Richard? Is everything alright? Where are you?" 

Richard murmured something that vaguely sounded like a positive, and said hurriedly, sounding like he was a bit tipsy, “Sorry for calling at this time, I’m at Heathrow, can I stay over? I’ll stay quiet in the guest bedroom, I promise.”

Laura was still worried, but it sounded like he was physically fine, though she would eventually want to know why he was not going back to the flat he had been renting until he found a suitable house. Well, Richard could get here first and she could ask questions later. No sense in interrogating the man over the phone, especially if he was indeed drunk.

"Laura?" Richard's voice prompted. 

"All right," Laura finally said, "Should I send Max to get you?"

"No, I'm fine, I'll get a taxi."

The call definitely dispelled all the drowsiness in her, so Laura picked up her book again and attempted to concentrate on the words on the page. An hour later, she had not managed to read two pages when she heard Max check the side door. That has to be Richard, she thought, so she put on her dressing gown and went downstairs.

Max was halfway up the stairs. "It's Richard. Should I let him in?"

"Yes. Will you take him to the sitting room, please, Max? I'll make tea."

Laura came into the sitting room bearing a tray with a pot of tea, two cups, a thing of milk, and a little bowl of sugar. Richard was sat on the sofa, his head tilted back so it was resting on the top of the sofa back. His suitcase and briefcase were put away neatly by the coffee table. He didn't look completely smashed, yet his eyes were red.

"Hi," Laura said awkwardly.

"Sorry for dropping in at this hour," said Richard, looking up at her. "I just… don't think I can be alone tonight," he laughed in a self-deprecating manner.

"Oh, Richard," Laura sighed, setting the tea things on the table. He definitely needed a hug, so she dropped on the sofa next to him and hugged him tight. As always, he gave his best hug in return and rested his head on her shoulder. Laura lifted a hand and ran her fingers through his curls. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Richard eyed the tea things on the table. "Maybe over something stronger?"

Any other day, Laura would probably have told him he'd had enough, but today she smiled. "I'll get Liam's whiskey."

Once Richard had his glass of whiskey in hand, he drew a deep breath and began. "I met this man in Paris. Older. His name was Benjamin, and he was the loveliest man I've ever seen."

Richard dissolved into tears uncharacteristically quickly. Granted, this was only the third break up Laura had ever seen him go through, not including their own divorce (she wasn't sure if he'd had more experience than that), and all three separations had been vicious. So she listened to Richard telling her about Ben's handsome face and great patience while softly picking her way through every single beautifully greying strand of Richard's hair. As his narrative went on, he moved to rest his head on her lap -- one thing he'd always liked to do -- allowing her a better angle to pet his fluffy hair. She allowed Richard to hold on to her other hand -- another thing that always managed to comfort him. 

***

Liam wasn't sure what woke him up, but he realized that he wasn't as warm as he should be. He groped towards his left blindly. Laura wasn't there. Liam forced himself to open his heavy, crusty eyes. Laura's side of the bed looked like it had only been mildly sat on. He turned to the clock and saw that it was 2am. Suddenly, he realized that there were faint sounds coming from downstairs. Maybe she was unable to sleep and went downstairs to watch the telly?

Liam padded down the stairs quietly and went into the sitting room. To his utter shock, there was Laura on the settee, and the telly was switched off, but on Laura's lap was a mop of greying curls that went with a giant of a body. Liam had seen that figure enough to recognize that it was Laura's ex-husband, who fortunately played for the other team too much to come back and beg Laura to take him back like Liam had done to the woman that was both his ex-wife and ex-boss. However, that wasn't enough to stop emotions from rising in Liam's chest.

"Laura? What's this?" Liam almost demanded in a low tone.

Laura made a soft shushing sound, her hand still stroking Richard's hair. "Oh, hi, Liam. Richard had a bad time in Paris and needed somewhere to go."

Richard made some effort to raise his head, and even from this awkward angle, Liam was able to tell that the other man had been crying.

"Sorry for barging in in the middle of the night," Richard said hoarsely. 

“Hey, no worries, mate,” Liam replied awkwardly. What else should he have said? Laura had made it clear many times that Richard was her best friend, and it was clear that Richard needed her support tonight. “I was just worried that Laura wasn’t in bed. I’ll go back to sleep, then. Night.”

***

It was almost dawn when Richard exhausted his supply of tears. He was half falling asleep as he cried the last of his sobs, and despite everything, Laura thought it was adorable.

"Come," said Laura, "let's put you to bed. The children will be awake in a few hours, better not let them see you like this, hm?"

Richard rose slowly, lifting his head from Laura's lap. Retrieving his bags, he followed Laura to the guest room, even though he knew the way. As soon as he put his suitcase down, Laura began to search for his sleepwear. Wordlessly, she handed him his pyjamas and let him change while she turned down the bed cover.

In spite of his large frame, he wiggled into bed and snuggled into the covers. A surge of protectiveness rising in her, Laura ran her hand through his greying locks one last time and kissed him on his forehead.

"Good night, Richard."

A hand shot up and wound its way around her wrist. "Stay?"

Liam would not be pleased, but she had never been able to resist his kicked puppy look.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you have a wonderful birthday, and hope you like this, Jav <3
> 
> This is supposed to take place a few months after Laura and Richard's divorce, so Liam's still a bit jealous.


End file.
